Archive for March, 2011
Video: The Best April Fool’s Day Car Pranks Ever
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
photo by Flickr user SashaFatCat April Fool’s Day is here–and exactly what have you done to screw with your friends’ heads? Nothing? Lame. It’s pretty easy to use your car as a tool of mental mayhem–but you’ve got to be good about it. Moving their car to a different space? Amateur hour. Moving their car to MySpace? April Fool’s gold, since no…
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Hyundai Assurance Is No More
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
As the economy has steadily improved, Hyundai no longer sees a need for its complementary job-insurance program called Hyundai Assurance.
The program was launched way back in January 2009 when the recession was beginning to hit consumers and automakers hard. It allowed car buyers who found themselves laid off to return their vehicles within the first two years of purchase. The program will end this Friday.
Over the life of the program only 350 customers asked Hyundai to take their vehicles back due to job loss, according to the Detroit News. Despite the low usage, the program was heralded as boosting Hyundai’s image and sales during a tough time in the auto industry.
Hyundai’s plan spawned copycats, most noticeably Ford’s Advantage Plan and GM’s Total Confidence program. Both have been discontinued.
Hyundai to drop job loss guarantee (The Detroit News)
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2012 Panamera Turbo S at the 2011 New York Auto Show
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
- Competes with: Aston Martin Rapide and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
- Looks like: Porsche finally fills out the Panamera’s lineup … or has it?
- Drivetrain: 550-hp, twin turbocharged 4.8-liter V-8 with a seven-speed auto-shift manual transmission; all-wheel drive
- Hits dealerships: Spring 2011
Porsche has been busy expanding the Panamera’s trim offerings since the model was first unveiled in 2008. Today, the automaker showed off its new top-of-the line 2012 Panamera Turbo S trim.
The Turbo S takes off where the Panamera Turbo ends in terms of features and brings an extra dose of performance. The Turbo S takes the standard V-8 powertrain and manages to eke out another 50 horsepower (550 hp). Torque has also increased to 553 pounds-feet, and an overboost function can increase peak torque to 590 pounds-feet. With the help of launch control, the Turbo S can go from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 190 mph.
Other performance enhancements include new 20-inch wheels with increased rear axle track width, side skirts, an adaptive four-way extending rear spoiler, Porsche’s Servotronic steering system, a sports exhaust system and a special Sports Plus button that further tunes the engine and suspension for performance driving. Interior changes include new exclusive bicolor leather upholstery schemes such as black/cream.
In the 2011 model year, the Panamera received two entry level trims and a new V-6. A new hybrid model is coming to the 2012 model year, too. The Panamera is Porsche’s best-selling car year-to-date in the U.S. The 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S will go on sale in the U.S. later this spring and have a base price of $173,200, excluding $975 for delivery fee.
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Video: Jay Leno Does A Burnout In Lee Iacocca’s Mustang
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
Lee Iacocca’s relevance to the auto industry is gone, despite the role he once played. So, too, has his unique limited edition 45th anniversary Mustang faded from the scene with the new 5.0′s arrival, but this video sidesteps relevance and goes straight to interesting, and, at a few points, cool. After reminiscing a bit about the past, Lee and Jay…
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2012 Jaguar XF Development Mule Sports New 2.2-Liter Diesel
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
Official “spy shots” released today by Jaguar show a 2012 XF development mule packing a new 2.2-liter diesel engine. While we won’t likely be seeing the oil-burner here in the U.S., the images are still relevant to what we may soon be seeing on our roads. Wrapped in swirly camouflage vinyl, it’s hard to make out the details, but the front end…
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Honda Plans U.S. Plant Slowdown, Toyota Rations Parts
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
The fallout from the Japanese earthquake continues as the top two Japanese automakers in the U.S. made major announcements that will impact both car shoppers and current owners.
Beginning today, Honda will begin “a strategy of temporary adjustments” to its North American production schedule. Meaning, the automaker won’t build as many cars every day as it could if there were a larger supply of parts available.
Honda builds a vast majority of the cars it sells in the U.S. in North America including the best-selling Accord, Civic and CR-V.
Toyota had already announced plans for more severe plant shutdowns in North America, but none have been scheduled — or revealed — as of yet.
The company has, however, restricted its U.S. dealers from ordering some 233 parts. Dealers are being asked to just order enough of these few replacement parts — there are some 10,000 parts used by Toyota dealers — to satisfy demand. The company doesn’t want to be left with a shortage of any vital part and is worried some dealers might over order.
Toyota rationing parts to dealers to avert hoarding (USA Today)
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2011 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country Video
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
For the 2011 model year, Chrysler refreshed almost its entire lineup of vehicles, including the venerable 2011 Chrysler Town & Country and 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. It was a timely move, considering the Chrysler twins will compete against a new Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna for sales. So, how does the pair fare? Admirably, according to Cars.com senior editor David Thomas, especially when you consider what you get for the price.
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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Causes Four-Car Pile-Up: Can He Get It Fixed?
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia is known for being a little maverick-y. Over the course of his career, he’s developed a reputation as a very smart, highly opinionated guy who’s not afraid to move at his own pace. That can serve him well in the courtroom, but it didn’t do much for Scalia yesterday on the George Washington Parkway, where he…
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Five-Millionth Audi A4 Rolls Off The Production Line
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
Since the introduction of the first Audi A4 back in 1994 (albeit the A4 is essentially the original Audi 80 renamed), more than five million cars bearing the A4 name have rolled off Audi production lines in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany. The five-millionth model was a ‘Misano Red’ 2.0 TFSI quattro model, which will be going to a…
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Could Europe Go Gas-Free by 2050?
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
With the growing number of hybrids, fuel-efficient turbos and now electric cars hitting American roads, our nation is making progress toward achieving its corporate average fuel economy goal of 35.5 mpg by 2016. But before we collectively pat ourselves on the back, across the Atlantic, our European friends are proposing to use zero gas by 2050.
Under a proposal from the European Union, all member states would adopt a “zero-emission urban logistics” strategy. The EU wants to reduce the need for personal transport to extremely short distances — think errand runs or short commutes. The EU also wants personal passenger vehicles to become smaller, lighter, more specialized and, of course, emit zero emissions by 2050.
The proposal doesn’t mention what will take the place of burning fossil fuel, but it would most likely involve moving to hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicles. Under the proposal, large fleets of urban buses, taxis and delivery vans would be the first vehicles to move to alternative fueling sources.
The EU proposal showed that continued fuel-efficiency gains on gasoline or diesel vehicles would not achieve the EU’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 1990 levels in the transportation industry by 2050. These emissions include airplanes, trains, freight trucks and maritime transit.
Besides regulations that would require automakers to produce zero-emission vehicles, the EU proposes more efficient road pricing (such as parking taxes, tolls and fuel taxes) and the removal of distortions in taxation to influence consumer buying habits.
Not only does the proposal set the lofty zero-emissions goal for its urban passenger cars, but it wants to achieve zero fatalities a year in transportation by the same time. The EU plans to meet this goal by incorporating driver-assistance systems — such as adaptive cruise control and crash avoidance programs — smart speed limiters, seat-belt reminders and eCall, which is sort of like a fleetwide EU-mandated OnStar service.
About 34,500 people were killed on EU roads in 2009, nearly the same amount that was killed in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
If you're having trouble visualizing this future you need not worry, the EU included a video of tomorrow land:
